Grass Roots Local Marketing Strategies

There are many ways to increase your sales from existing clients, get more referrals, regain lost customers, and get new clients. If you have a limited budget (or even if you have a HUGE marketing budget), grassroots local marketing strategies are an inexpensive and fun way to grow your business.

I successfully used these the techniques I share in this article in my auto parts store businesses, auto parts wholesale distribution business, and my retail glove equipment business with great success.
You must know your money math and track everything to know what works best in your niche.

Build your Customer / Prospect List

Offer your clients and prospects advance notice on specials, private sales, and special events for signing up for your list. Spiff your employees 50 cents for collecting names, addresses and email addresses. I did this in my golf stores and built a list of several thousand. I recently advises a local retailer to use this strategy. They built their list by over 1,500 people in 60 days at a cost of only $750. They sell thousands of dollars of merchandise to these people every month.

Business Card Drawing with a Twist

You’ve seen many restaurants and retailers collect business cards in a fishbowl for a drawing. Most never do anything with the cards. Smart entrepreneurs add the names and addresses to their list and PLOT THE ADDRESSES on a city map. You’ll learn that a high percentage come from one or two areas. Send direct mail to that area by postal carrier route.

Bounce Back Coupons or Offers

Bounce Back Coupons are used to “make a sale after the sale”. There are two kinds – in cooperation with a non-competing business and internal.

In the co-op example you create a coupon for your business and your non-competing partner creates a coupon for their business. You give his coupon to everyone who purchases something at your business and vice-versa. Examples of possible alliances are: chiropractor - message therapist, window covering store – carpet store, CPA – financial planner, etc.

Internal bounce back coupons are very easy. In my golf equipment stores I used them with great success. We’d put a coupon for $3 off on a golf glove in with each box of golf balls and a coupon for 20% off on a golf bag in with each box of golf shoes.

The coupons had a short expiration date to encourage the customer to return to the stores quickly.

Remnant Media Buys

Have you ever been offered remnant space from your media sales people? You can negotiate up to 80% off your normal ad rate with this strategy. For my golf equipment stores, I had regular weekly or twice weekly display ads in the sports section. I offered the newspaper 80% off my display rate to run the ad in another section of the paper on a different day if they had remnant (empty) space to fill. I even had ads of different sizes prepared to plug into a remnant space. About 30% of the time the remnant ad was run.

I had a similar offer for TV. The local TV network affiliates have local time to sell for the major golf tournaments like The Masters and US Open. Their quote for a 30 second spot was $3,500 to $4,000. I would offer them $400 and tell them I would take spots right up until they day of the telecast. Generally they’d call me the day the tournament begin with an offer of a $4,000 spot for $1,000. We’d counter at $500 or $600 and get it for HUGE savings. This works is all industries.

Private Sales

Invite your clients to fun, private sales. Serve beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks. Encourage them to bring friends. Close your business early and make the sale truly private. Plan contests throughout the evening to build excitement. Get your suppliers to co-op the event with you to cut the expense of your refreshments and to fund special discounts available only that night.

There are many more inexpensive local promos that make a big difference in your business. If you have not read the NO BS Grass Roots Marketing Book By Dan Kennedy and Jeff Slutsky. Grab a copy today.